In a universe filled with dragons and royalty, somehow, witchcraft falls short on two women in the Game of Thrones universe: Alys Rivers and Melisandre. Alys recently made her debut in House of the Dragon and yet fans are already speculating her relations with Melisandre.
Here's what fans have to say about their connection in the universe.
SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, so proceed with caution.
Alys River's Debut Reminded Fans of Another Witch in the Franchise
Alys Rivers (played by Gayle Rankin) officially joined House of the Dragon in season 2 episode 3 titled The Burning Mill, where she appeared in Daemon Targaryen's dream as a warning that his death is coming near.
Little is known about Alys as she had only recently made her appearance, but according to George R.R. Martin's novel, Fire & Blood, she works as a wet nurse at Harrenhal and is a bastard child of House Strong, which explains why she showed up in Daemon's vision at Harrenhal.
Alys Rivers is said to have prophetic visions, which implies she's on par with Melisandre, aka the Red Woman with similar powers in Game of Thrones. So, is it possible that these two are related, somehow, in the franchise?
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How Are These Two Related? They Serve Similar Purposes
According to Gayle Rankin, who portrayed Alys Rivers, "On House of the Dragon, we have dragons, obviously, but [Alys] is the first entry point to that world of magic." which accurately depicts the identity of Alys, given that her series came before the events of Game of Thrones.
Still, fans' curiosity peaked when they found out about their prophetic magic and that both witches appeared younger when they were biologically older than they looked (Alys was described to be at least forty, and Melisandre is apparently 400 years old).
Not to mention, they both also end up giving birth to a noble's child (Alys Rivers gets pregnant with Aemond, and Melisandre "birthed" the shadow that killed Renly Baratheon).
The only difference is the Red Woman can only see them in fire, while Alys Rivers can also watch the visions unfold in clouds and pools of water.
Oh, and the fact that Alys is simply claimed to be a woods witch, a healer who uses traditional medicine and spells, as opposed to Melisandre, who served a higher purpose in advising the King.
While the connection between Alys Rivers and Melisandre has yet to be disclosed, fans are actually hoping that both witches are taken as separate individuals who serve different purposes in their lives.
At most, fans prefer to merely see Alys Rivers as some sort of parallel character to the Red Woman during Game of Thrones. They believe that Melisandre at least knew that someone like Alys Rivers existed.
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What do you think about Alys Rivers and Melisandre's potential connection? Share your theories in the comments below!
New House of the Dragon Season 2 episodes are released every Sunday on HBO.
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